Shipwire in the News

Business Wire, August 18, 2008.

International Order Fulfillment Service Offers Step-by-Step Getting Started Guide, Holiday Promotion and New Features to Help Develop Sales in the U.S. and Overseas

Sunnyvale, CA, August 18, 2008 For online retailers, the bright spot for 2008 holiday sales is predicted to come from a 14.3 percent growth in U.S. e-commerce over last year (eMarketer, May 2008); and, expansion of online sales abroad, giving e-tailers additional markets to pursue. In preparation for the busy holiday season, Shipwire Inc., a leader in e-commerce order fulfillment services, has released “Five Steps to Holiday E-commerce Success,” a special promotion offering free international order fulfillment to support e-tailers” overseas expansion and celebrate enhancements to the Shipwire Store-Sell-Ship™ platform (http://www.shipwire.com/holiday).

“Large international retailers offer online buyers local shipping options that guarantee timely delivery of orders at ground shipping rates. Shipwire levels the playing field and gives small e-tailers access to a global order fulfillment service specifically modeled on successful Fortune 500 fulfillment and shipping best practices. Online retailers have a great opportunity for international growth this holiday season – Shipwire’s ”˜Five Steps to Holiday Success” promotion provides a risk-free opportunity for small businesses to expand into new markets,” said Damon Schechter, founder and CEO of Shipwire and best-selling author of Delivering the Goods: The Art of Managing Your Supply Chain (Wiley, 2002). “The Shipwire Store-Sell-Ship™ platform allows e-tailers to focus on growing their business in the U.S. or overseas by eliminating the hassles of inventory storage and order shipping.”

A number of variables make the current environment ideal for online retailers to grow sales in the UK and Europe this holiday season. UK and European online sales have traditionally trailed the U.S. in growth percentages. This is no longer the case as each market is expected to gain significantly in the coming years. According to Jupiter Research, e-tailers targeting overseas markets see the most promise in Europe, which is experiencing fast online sales growth. In the 10 largest European markets between 2006 and 2012, online retail sales are predicted to grow 137 percent from â‚¬56.9 billion to â‚¬134.8 billion (Jupiter Research, May 2008).

Established e-tailers are using e-commerce tools and sales processes honed in the U.S. market over the past 10 years to expand overseas successfully. Shipwire provides outsource warehouse and order fulfillment services that enable e-tailers to enter foreign markets without having to manage additional employees or make large capital investments in warehouses. Using Shipwire, online retailers can offer customers faster order delivery at lower shipping rates than traditional international parcel shipping. According to Mr. Schechter, “The largest online retailers don’t ship all orders from one central warehouse — they diversify inventory globally across multiple warehouses, and ship orders from the warehouse closest to the end customer. Shipwire allows e-tailers of any size to plug into this kind of global warehouse network starting at $30/month.”

Currently, shipping from six warehouse locations—with the most recent addition servicing Europe from the United Kingdom—Shipwire increased by 80 percent the volume of packages shipped during the last six-month period over the previous six-month period. With the opening of the UK warehouse in June 2008 to augment the Toronto and Vancouver warehouses, which opened December of 2007, international shipments grew from 2.9 percent in Q4 2007 to 9 percent by the end of Q2 2008.

Mark Carlton of http://www.Rockgardn.ca states, “We knew our products would sell well in Canada. We didn’t want to miss the fall riding season, and certainly couldn’t miss the 2008 holiday sales season. We worked with Shipwire to get inventory moved into Canada when we launched a customized Canadian site for our off-road body-armor and protective outerwear. From idea to production in less than two months, we are now selling to dealers and direct to consumers in Canada as though we were local.”

Five Step Guide and Shipwire Order Fulfillment Promotion Gears E-tailers Up for a Successful Holiday Selling Season

For e-tailers that want to automate order fulfillment and expand into the U.S., Canada or Europe this holiday season, Shipwire has created “Five Steps to Holiday E-commerce Success” guide and promotion that includes a free trial, free logistics consultation with a Shipwire expert and a limited-time offer of 50 orders fulfilled free-of-charge from any Shipwire warehouse. For more information visit: http://www.shipwire.com/holiday
According to Schechter, “The Shipwire holiday promotion is intended to eliminate cost concerns and demonstrate to merchants that Shipwire is their partner for U.S. and overseas growth. The promotion includes unlimited free access to the Shipwire Store-Sell-Ship™ platform, coupled with 50 orders fulfilled free of any Shipwire charges out of one or all of our warehouses across the U.S., Canada or Europe. Shipwire fully integrates with retailer Web stores; orders are closed normally; and, are automatically routed to Shipwire. With our system, orders are analyzed and shipped from the warehouse closest to the buyer—guaranteeing fast delivery at the lowest shipping price. By locating inventory closer to shoppers, e-tailers using Shipwire deliver orders throughout the U.S., Canada and the UK in one to two days—for the price of a local-ground delivery. Compared to alternative ”˜single-warehouse” fulfillment solutions and international shipping, Shipwire retailers get orders to customers faster and cheaper without customs risks.”

New Shipwire Features and Integrations Further Automate Sales
Building upon the proven success of the Shipwire Store-Sell-Ship™ platform, Shipwire is also launching new features and service enhancements in time for the holidays, including:

Shipping Optimization: Now available for free in all Shipwire accounts. A one-button selection in an e-tailer’s Shipwire account ensures a shipment will be sent using the most cost-effective shipping method available from the major parcel carriers. Don Chernoff of Skyroll.com, maker of carry-on garment bags, states, “The shipping optimization feature will make sure that I always get the best shipping rate, without me having to judge which carrier should be used. More shipping savings with less time.”

Expanded International Shipping Options: With the low dollar and high European demand, the UK warehouse continues to expand its traffic. Now all accounts will include the option to access the UK warehouse at no additional charge. Shipwire provides a UK e-commerce order fulfillment warehouse guide to aid retailers with common questions and shipping options as they enter the UK and Europe.

Single-Click Warehouse Insurance: With one click, retailers can add insurance to inventory stored by Shipwire. No longer will e-tailers need to turn to third-party insurers and their reams of paperwork to keep their inventory properly insured against loss. This additional inventory insurance augments the standard Shipwire warehouse guarantees and provides the retailer with proof of insurance.

New Integrations: The Shipwire e-commerce developer partner and affiliate program is continuing to grow. New integrations and partners include: Miva Merchant®, Amazon® Seller Central, NetSuite®, 1ShoppingCart®, ProStores® by eBay®, Zoovy®, and support for the PayPal® shopping cart. Each of these integrations have a connection wizard within the Store-Sell-Ship™ platform, insuring easy and accurate connections with no custom development needed. For a complete listing of Shipwire compatible e-commerce tools. E-commerce developer tools including an API make integration easy; and, the e-commerce partner program provides lucrative commissions. For a complete list of new enhancements to the Shipwire solution, and tips for retailers looking to go international, visit the Shipwire order fulfillment blog.

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About Shipwire (http://www.shipwire.com)
Shipwire provides growing e-tailers with e-commerce order fulfillment services powered by a global warehouse network and its Store-Sell-Ship™ platform. Shipwire eliminates the hassle of storage and shipping, so merchants can focus on growth. With warehouses in Los Angeles, Reno, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver and the UK, Shipwire allows merchants to drastically reduce shipping costs by locating inventory closer to buyers. Usage-based plans start at just $29/month, and enable merchants to locate inventory in all warehouses, with no contract commitments. Shipwire is the only warehouse logistics service that instantly integrates with shopping carts and inventorymanagement systems. Shipwire is developer and partner friendly; learn more about our e-commerce developer affiliate program. Get our outsourced e-commerce order fulfillment guide. For a free trial or more information, contact 1-888-SHIPWIRE or visit http://www.shipwire.com/trial.